This strawberry blueberry pie is made with a flakey all butter pie crust and is perfect for your July 4th celebrations! This mixed berry pie filling is tart thanks to some lemon juice, and I'll show you how to boil down the berry juices so your filling isn't runny. Have a slice of this delicious summer dessert with a scoop of vanilla ice cream!
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While I love the look of a lattice crust, like in my bourbon apple pie, I think it is so much easier to decorate the top of a pie with pastry cut outs. I did stars for the 4th of July, but you could do any shape you like! You could also top it with a crumble topping instead, like the topping from my strawberry apple crisp recipe.
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Why you'll love this recipe!
- Fresh Fruit - this pie filling is made with fresh strawberries and fresh blueberries, definitely the taste of Summer!
- All Butter Pie Dough - I don't think there's anything better than a buttery crust, but you could also use a storebought crust if you're short on time!
- Thick Fruit Filling - I'm not a fan of a runny pie filling, so I've made sure that this pie isn't too runny. I toss the fruit with some sugar for a few hours before I start baking. Sugar is hygroscopic, which means it is pulling out the water from the fruit and absorbs it, getting rid of any extra liquid. I then drain all those juices and simmer them for about 10 minutes until I have a thick syrup.
- Can Be Made In Advance - you'll need to set aside some time for this recipe to allow the pie dough to chill and to macerate the fruit, but the good news is that you can make this the day before!
Ingredient Notes
Flour: I'm using all purpose flour here! I haven't tested this with gluten free flour.
Butter: I always use unsalted butter, that way we can control how much salt we're using. I also always use European style butter as it has a higher butterfat content, making it richer and creamier.
Cornstarch: I forgot to add cornstarch to the above image, but you'll need it to help set the pie filling!
Berries: make sure to use in season berries. I tested this recipe previously with out of season berries and the fruity taste wasn't as strong.
Lemon: some lemon juice helps brighten the filling and make it slightly sour, perfect with those sweet strawberries!
Step by Step Instructions
You'll need a rolling pin, a couple large and medium mixing bowls, a small saucepan, a rubber spatula and a 9 inch pie plate.
Step 1: Mix dry ingredients for your pie dough. In a large bowl, whisk your flour, sugar and salt.
Step 2: Add butter. Take half of your butter and cut it into thin sheets, take the other have and cube it. First add the butter cubes and toss in the flour, smooshing it (technical word! Ok, maybe not) with your fingers. Once the cubes are about the size of walnut halves, add the butter sheets. Do the same, tossing with the flour and smooshing the butter. Make sure all the butter is covered in flour!
Step 3: Add your water. Drizzle over 10 tablespoons of ice water and toss with the butter flour mixture. You might need to add more water, just do it a tablespoon at a time - it all depends on the flour you are using! You should be able to knead it with your hands and have it come together with just a few dry spots.
Step 4: Chill. Divide the dough in two, with this recipe I made one disc (for the pie crust) slightly bigger than the other (for the pastry cut outs). Wrap them tightly in plastic wrap and chill for at least 2 hours, or up to 2 days. I then took out the dough, rolled it on a lightly floured surface into a large rectangle, then folded it back into itself like an envelope and rewrapped in plastic. Chill for another 30 minutes. This is going to make your pie dough even flakier, but it is optional!
Step 5: Macerating the fruit. Ideally you should do this when the pie dough is chilling for those 2 hours! Mix the fruit in a large bowl with half of the sugar and the lemon juice. Toss and leave it at room temperature for at least 1 hour but up to 4 hours. If your fruit is out of season it might take the whole 4 hours. Toss it once in awhile.
Step 6: Boiling the juice. Place a sieve or colander over a small saucepan. Drain the fruit, collecting the juices into the saucepan. Place the pan over medium-low heat and bring to a boil, then lower the heat. Simmer the juices, stirring often. Simmer until you have about 3 tablespoons of juice left, it should be quite thick and syrupy by now! The amount of time totally depends on how much juice you got out of the fruit, for me it took about 10 minutes.
Step 7: Finish the filling. Pour the juicy syrup back over the berries, and add the remaining sugar, cornstarch, salt, vanilla extract and cinnamon. Toss so the berries are evenly coated.
Step 8: Line your pie plate. Roll out your large disc of dough on a lightly floured surface with a rolling pin. Roll it out to be about one and a half to two inches wider than your pie plate. Carefully transfer it to your pie plate and let it slouch down. Cut around the sides using scissors so you have about an inch of dough, and tuck that under creating your edges. Use lightly floured hands to press along the sides of the pie plate, where the dough meets the sides - this will help your crust not slump down when it's baking! Then crimp the edges as desired. Place in the fridge to chill for about 15 minutes.
Step 9: Pastry Cutouts. While the crust is chilling, roll out the other disc of pie dough. Cut out your shapes and place on a small plate. Brush the cutouts with a beaten egg, this will help them become nice and golden brown! Pour the filling into the chilled pie crust and place the cutouts on top of the pie.
Step 10: Bake! Place the chilled pie on the middle rack of your oven, preheated to 425 degrees. Bake for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 350 degrees and bake for another 45-50 minutes. The berry filling should be bubbling and the top and edges should be a golden brown. If the pie crust is getting too brown, you can cover those with aluminum foil.
Allow the pie to cool completely before serving. Slice and serve with ice cream or whipped cream!
Recipe Tips & Tricks
- Measuring Ingredients - I highly recommend using a weighing scale and measuring out your ingredients the metric way. It makes a huge difference to your baking and is the most accurate way to bake!
- Fluff & Sprinkle Flour - If you aren't weighing your ingredients and are using a measuring cup, then use the fluff and sprinkle method to measure your flour. Go to this link here to find out how to do that.
- Cold Butter & Pie Dough - one of the main reasons why your pie dough either is brittle or slumps is because the dough (and the butter!) were not cold enough. Make sure before you start making the dough that your butter is very cold, and make sure once you've made the dough that you chill it for at least 2 hours (especially during the Summer months!). Once you've lined your pie plate, keep it in the fridge and only take it out when you're ready to pour in your filling and place it straight in the oven.
- Mixed Berries - I used strawberries and blueberries here, but you could make it all strawberry, all blueberry or add an extra berry like raspberries! If you add an extra berry just make sure to reduce the amount of strawberries and blueberries.
Frequently Asked Questions
First step is making sure you macerate your fruit for long enough, I recommend at least 1 hour but it's better if you can do 2-4 hours. Then boil down those juices until you have a thick syrup. Make sure you add cornstarch to the filling (and that it's not expired!) and finally, make sure the pie filling is bubbling before you take it out of the oven. Also make sure to let your pie cool completely, if you cut into a warm pie the filling won't have set.
I haven't tried this with frozen berries, but please let me know if you do!
Cover the pie tightly and keep in the fridge for up to 5 days.
Try these fruity recipes next!
Have you made this recipe? Please rate the recipe below! Don't forget to follow me on Instagram @alpineella and Pinterest!
Recipe
Strawberry Blueberry Pie
Equipment
- 1 9 inch pie plate
Ingredients
Pie Dough
- 3 cups (400 grams) all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons white granulated sugar
- 2 ½ sticks (280 grams) unsalted butter cold
Strawberry Blueberry Filling
- 2 cups (250 grams) blueberries
- 3 cups (468 grams) strawberries cut into quarters
- 3 tablespoons lemon juice
- ½ cup (100 grams) white granulated sugar
- ⅓ cup (35 grams) cornstarch
- ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- ½ teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1 egg beaten
Instructions
Make Pie Dough
- Fill a measuring jug with water and ice, place in the fridge. Take out 2 pieces of plastic wrap and place it near where you are working.
- Take half of your butter and cut into thin slices, about ⅛ inch thick and then place in the fridge.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, salt and sugar.
- Take the remaining butter and cut into ½ inch cubes. Toss the cubes of butter in the dry ingredients, making sure they're all evenly coated. Use your fingers to smoosh the butter into the flour, you want to completely flatten the cubes and make them smaller until the biggest pieces of butter are about the size of a pea.
- Take out the chilled butter slices and add them to the bowl, tossing to coat in the flour, then use your fingers to flatten the butter slices. You'll now have a mixture of very small and slightly larger bits of butter.
- Drizzle 10 tablespoons of your ice water into the flour (make sure not to have any ice fall in). Use your hands to toss the flour and butter. Continue tossing the mixture until it forms a shaggy mass. Continue drizzling ice water, a tablespoon at a time, and kneading the dough until just a couple of dry spots remain and you have one large piece of dough.
- Divide the piece into 2 and form into 2 discs. I made one disc slightly larger for the pie crust, the other slightly smaller for the pastry cut outs. Wrap them tightly in the plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Note, go to pie making step with the fruit while it chills!
- Take them out of the fridge and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes (depending how cold your kitchen is) to make it easier to roll out. One disc at a time, place it on a lightly floured surface and roll the dough out into a rectangle. Fold the dough in thirds, then rewrap tightly in plastic. Refrigerate for at least another 30 minutes (or up to 2 days). This step is optional but gives you a flakier pie dough and I find it easier to work with.
Make Pie
- Place the fresh berries in a large mixing bowl. Drizzle over half of the sugar (save the other half for later in the recipe!) and your lemon juice. Toss everything together and leave for at least 1 hour, up to 4 hours. Do this step while your pie dough is chilling. Toss every so often, until a lot of juice has collected at the bottom of the bowl. If your fruit is very ripe and in season, it should only take an hour to do this.
- Take out a saucepan and place a colander or fine meshed sieve on top. Drain the juices from the fruit, collecting the juice in the saucepan. Put the fruit back into the large bowl. Simmer the juices on medium-low heat until you have 2-3 tablespoons left, it should be thick and syrupy. For me this took just 10 minutes but it depends how much juice you have!
- Pour the 2-3 tablespoons of juice back over the fruit and add the rest of the filling ingredients - the rest of the sugar, cornstarch, salt, vanilla extract and cinnamon. Toss together.
- With an oven rack in the middle position, preheat your oven to 425°F/220°C
- Take the large disc of dough out of the fridge and let it come to room temperature for 5-10 minutes. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured surface until it is about an inch or two wider than your pie plate. I find it easiest to gently lift the dough and place it on to the plate, but you can also roll it up on to your rolling pin and then unroll it on to your pie plate.
- Let the dough slump into the plate and press very firmly on to the bottom and the area where the side and the bottom of the pie plate meet - this is going to help it not slump when baking!
- Tuck the overhang underneath, this is going to give you a thicker edge. Go back and use your hand and fingers to firmly press the dough into the pie plate. Crimp the edges as desired, crimping firmly into the pie plate is going to help it not shrink and hold its shape.
- Place your pie plate in the fridge for 15 minutes. While it is chilling, take out the other disc of dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface. Cut cookie cutters or pie crust cutters to cut out shapes. Place these shapes on a plate. You can brush them with a beaten egg to make sure they get golden brown.
- Take the chilled pie crust out of the fridge and pour in your filling. Place your pastry cut outs on top.
- Place the pie straight into the oven (don't wait too long as you want your pie crust to be very cold!) and bake for 15 minutes at 425°F/220°C. After 15 minutes, lower the temperature without opening the door to 350°F/175°C and bake for another 45-50 minutes. The filling should be bubbling. If your crusts are getting too brown, cover them with aluminum foil.
- Take the pie out and let it cool completely before slicing. Letting it cool will allow the filling to set.
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